Rock Bottom
by Violet to Blue
Summary: Sequel to Moonlighting. Joe has a hard time coping with the consequences of his financial defeat. But he gets unexpected help from a new furry friend, and in the end he is able to render help to someone else in turn. Though the beginning might seem slow this story turns out to be a real thriller in the end.
1. Chapter 1

Standard Disclaimer: Houston Knights belongs to Jay Bernstein and Michael Butler and Columbia Pictures. No copyright infringement is intended. This is fan fiction, written out of love for the shows. I am making no money off this. I have no money so please don't sue me. Any original characters who may appear in these stories are the property of the author.

Houston Knights Fanfiction

 **Rock Bottom**

 ****This is a sequel to _ **Moonlighting**_

By Violet to Blue

 **Chapter 1**

Then...

The room was familiar, Joe had been here uncountable times, on numerous occasions, and it had always been a welcomed change from home. But all of a sudden the room was to be his new home and his real home was gone forever. He was thirteen years old and he still could not grasp the significance of the events of the past days. He knew his mother was dead but he had no idea what this would mean to his life. He used to stay in this room in Uncle Mickey´s house when he was visiting his cousins. But the room was his for good now, his new home. He did not want it to be this way. He wanted to rage, to scream, to vandalize the place and to run…

Now…

The room was familiar too. Joe had been here before, though the occasions had been few. Had he liked to stay here? Somehow he had the vague notion he wasn´t as welcomed here as he had been in Uncle Mikey´s house. The room was not his to keep, just allotted as an interim emergency accommodation. And the home he had lost this time had not really felt like home at all. But losing it seemed even worse than it had felt back then. Perhaps because he had to admit it was his own fault. Again he wanted to rage, to scream, to vandalize the place and to run…and most of all he did not want to go through all this again. As a child he had had no concept of what was to come. Now he knew the feelings that awaited him and it made things worse, far worse than he had ever imagined. How could it be that he felt worse than he had sixteen years ago? What had brought it all back, the loss, despair, the nameless rage, reinforced and more painful than before?

A knock on the door made Joe turn, almost expecting to see his aunt Teresa to look in on him. But it was his partner Levon who had opened the door a crack.

"Are you ok, Joe?" The expression on Levon´s face was one of worry.

Joe sat up on the bed. "Yeah, I´m fine," he lied, wanting his partner to stop looking at him with such scrutiny.

"Don´t you wanna eat something?" Levon suggested.

"Yeah, like what? Tex-Mex chili?" Even as he put the sarcastic remark across Joe felt sorry. He knew Levon wanted to help. "No thanks. I don´t think my stomach can put up with anything today."

"When have you last eaten? Must surely be a while by now." Levon still was set on trying to cajole him into having something.

"Doesn´t matter, I guess it´ll be better to just give my stomach some time to heal." Joe wished Levon would leave him alone.

Levon scanned the guest room, his eyes halting on the suitcases in the corner. They still stood where he had set them down when he had brought Joe here in the early hours of Saturday morning. Now it was Sunday noon. "Don´t you wanna unpack your stuff? I guess you´ll be staying a while…"

A spark of fury flared up in Joe´s eyes. "Not if I can help it, and besides it´s none of your business."

Levon was startled by the harsh rebuff, and though he was tempted to answer in kind he let it go. "Ok, you let me know when you need anything." With that Levon closed the door. He wondered what to do about Joe´s negative stance. Perhaps his partner just needed some time to come to terms with the new situation. So Levon resolved not to bother him with any further advances but to downright ignore his presence.

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

Monday came and Levon went back to work, leaving Joe to tend for himself at the ranch. He hoped Joe would come to his senses soon. He had overheard what the Lieutenant had said to his partner and he knew that Joe was very lucky. Levon´s former partner and now boss Joanne Beaumont was a good superior and she had with her concession given Joe more than a second chance. Knowing that she really cared about Joe, Levon was not surprised when Joanne beckoned him to her office the instant she saw him enter the bullpen.

"Levon, how is Joe?"

Thinking back to the weekend Levon hesitated. He had no idea how Joe was doing physically but the fact that Joe hadn´t eaten anything indicated that he was still suffering from the gastritis. Joe´s state of mind was another matter altogether…

"Levon?"

"Yeah, Joanne, I really can´t tell you for sure."

"Levon, could you please tell me the truth." Joanne fixed him with a stern look.

"Lieutenant, I´m telling you the truth. I have no idea. Joe kept to the guest room all weekend and he wouldn´t talk to me."

Joanne obviously wasn't pleased. "Is that all you can tell me? What about his gastritis?"

"I ain´t sure, Joanne. He didn´t eat anything so I guess he´s not through with it yet."

Joanne frowned. "Ok." Her eyes held Levon´s for a moment. "You can work with Esteban until Joe comes back."

Levon nodded and headed to his desk. He had hardly sat down when he was approached by Carol. She set a steaming mug of coffee in front of him. "Hi Levon." She smiled at him. Esteban and Joe-Bill also strolled over from their desks. "Hey Levon, we heard about the fabulous bust Joe and you carried out. Congratulations."

Levon squirmed in his seat. He wasn´t used to adorn himself with borrowed plumes. Though the result of the bust had been tremendous, Levon was well aware that the colleagues were referring to the coincidental outcome of a development that had gone wrong. "Well, that was really nothing." He picked up the mug and slurped the tasty brew. "Thanks Carol, that´s really a good one."

"Got it from Burglary, they had set up a fresh pot just a few minutes ago." Carol smiled at him broadly. "How is Joey? Hope he´ll be back soon."

"Yeah, sure, just needs some rest." Levon did not want to go into any detail as far as the condition of his partner was concerned.

"So where did you get the information that the warehouse was a major logistical hub for illegal weapons?" Esteban curiously scanned Levon´s face. "I thought good colleagues share their knowledge." Esteban laid his hand on Levon´s shoulder indicating comradeship, yet the subliminal reproach was clearly perceptible.

"Hey, you know how it is. Snitches give you something, but you can´t really be sure until you´ve looked into things. It was a lead, but it took a while and we really could not be sure what the outcome would be." Levon was trying to say nothing that would give Joe and the true nature of his involvement away. But his worries were obviously unfounded, the colleagues were clueless.

"What´s going on? Don´t you have anything to do?" Joanne had come out of her office and headed for the corridor, causing the team to resume their seats.

Levon sipped his coffee. Within minutes the normal business set in, phones rang, keyboards clicked, visitors went back and forth. The day gave no indication that it might turn out differently from any other.

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

The small ranch house was unusually quiet. Joe had never been here alone before. But then he actually welcomed the solitude. It gave him the opportunity to escape his self-imposed confinement to the guest room without the constant scrutiny of his partner. Joe had stayed in bed all weekend, sleeping most of the time, and when awake he had brooded over his situation. He hadn´t eaten and just lived on herb tea. To his relief the medication for the gastritis seemed to have worked. The agonizing stomach ache had at last subsided.

When Levon had been gone well over an hour Joe slipped out of bed and headed for the bathroom. He disgustedly shed the T-shirt and boxers he had been wearing for the past three days and stepped into the shower. The hot spray relaxed him and the soap he picked up had a fresh woody smell. He washed his hair with the shampoo at hand and for a long time just stood there soaking in the warmth of the water running over him until at last the temperature dropped.

Levon had put out some towels for him, and as he rubbed himself dry he eyed the two suitcases his landlord had packed and set out on the doorstep of his apartment. Joe dreaded to open them, knowing it would make his eviction from his own place more real, and it would force him to accept the finality of the facts. But he also realized it was time to face reality.

He flipped open the locks and lifted the lid of the first suitcase. Whoever had packed the thing had taken care not to crumple things too much. Carefully Joe took out the expensive suit he had bought on the occasion of his last binge shopping spell. The costly material felt nice to the touch and when his eyes fell on the still attached price tag he realized that in his present situation it would be totally inappropriate to wear the suit. It just wouldn´t feel right. For a moment he considered taking it back to the shop in an attempt to return it. But he knew he would simply feel too ashamed to go through with it. The purchase had been weeks ago and they would not take it back. Selling it somewhere else would not render the amount he had spent for it. With a sigh he laid it on the bed and continued unpacking.

By noon Joe had unpacked most of his stuff. He had come across a bag of toiletries and reclaimed his electric razor for a much needed shave. He wasn´t used to growing a beard and the stubble had annoyed him.

Though Joe had gained an overview over the items in the two suitcases, he also realized that many of his possessions were missing. Besides he felt reluctant to store the things in the large wardrobe in Levon´s guestroom. He just did not like the notion that this was supposed to be the place he would be staying permanently in the near future. So he had just left the clothes lying on the bed for now.

When he lifted the last item from the second suitcase Joe halted in mid-motion. At the very bottom lay the photo album his parents had given him for his eighth birthday. Over the years he had filled it with pictures of friends and family, of loves, of holidays and his career. Whoever had packed his things must have realized how precious and private the item was.

With a heavy heart Joe picked the album up and took it to the living room. He dropped on the couch and opened it in front of him on the coffee table. Slowly he turned over the pages. The first pictures were those of his own christening. He recognized his parents and many relatives. Some he couldn´t recall, they had probably died before he had been old enough to memorize them. A picture of Uncle Mickey holding him and displaying a broad smile was prominent among them. Even though his parents had not approved of Uncle Mickey´s mob involvement it had always been understood without doubt that Uncle Mickey would be his Godfather.

Slowly turning the pages Joe felt tears welling up in his eyes. There were all the people he had ever lost right in front of him: his parents, his grandparents… his aunts, uncles and cousins. Some were dead and others were just out of reach. He could not go to visit them and they would not come to see him.

The last few pages of the album were empty and when Joe reached the last picture he drew in his breath sharply. He stared at two smiling couples, recognizing himself and his Chicago partner Stephen Szabo, his own girl friend at the time, Gina, and Szabo´s wife Barbara.

Protruding from behind the picture was a folded newspaper clipping. Though Joe knew exactly what the small newspaper article was about, he pulled it out and unfolded it. "Police Detective dies in Mob Shooting." He felt a tear fall onto the back of his hand. The shooting incident that had cost Szabo´s life, had been the reason Joe had had to leave his hometown. He had killed the son of a prominent mob boss in turn for killing his partner and the deal Uncle Mickey had arranged for Joe to be transferred to Houston had been Joe´s only chance to stay alive.

Joe wiped his hand across his eyes. Was it really worth it to be alive so far away from home, away from his family, away from everybody he had ever loved? And then there was the shame he felt, the shame over losing his apartment because he could not get a grip on his financial situation. What would his Uncle think when he learnt that his beloved nephew Joey wasn´t capable of handling his own life like a man? The Chicago mob boss would never understand that Joe had succumbed to the desire to spend money to ease his loneliness and homesickness. On impulse Joe got up, his hands nervously running through his hair. All of a sudden he felt so desperate, so hopeless and utterly uprooted again. Aimlessly he started to wander through the house.

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

In the early afternoon Levon was out for an interview with Esteban. In a bar they were supposed to meet a snitch. While they were waiting for the informant to turn up, Levon took the opportunity to phone the ranch. He felt awkward about leaving Joe alone at his place, though he was not quite sure why. Probably it was just an unsubstantiated hunch. At the ranch no one picked up the phone. Perhaps Joe was asleep. But the hunch only grew stronger.

Levon put down the phone and turning around he faced Esteban´s serious face.

"What´s wrong, Lundy?"

"Nothing…I don´t know, I mean, I´m not sure." Levon felt awkward. But Esteban seemed to pick up his anxiety for what it was.

"Do you want to leave, Lundy?"

"Yeah, well, I guess the Lieutenant will not appreciate if I just quit in the middle of an assignment." Levon pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Don´t worry, Levon, I won´t tell her. I´ll get back to the station alright. Just go and take care of whatever is necessary." Esteban squeezed his arm reassuringly.

"Thanks, Esteban, much obliged, you're a real friend." Levon tipped his finger to his hat and headed for his car. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Levon´s halfheartedly uttered call for Joe remained unanswered. He put his hat on the hook beside the entrance and shed his jacket. The house was quiet, and quickly he went to the guest room, taking in the bed covered with garments piled high and the empty suitcases. The kitchen was empty as well and there were no signs that Joe might have prepared a meal. Bathroom and master bedroom were deserted.

For a short moment Levon stood in the middle of the living room, undecided. Then his eyes fell on the open album lying on the coffee table. He stepped closer and the pictures seemed to draw him in. He sat down and leafed through the pages. He was amazed to see his partner in his early youth, cheerful, mischievous, though the face was unmistakably Joe´s. The adolescent looked more demure and serious, sometimes even moody. There was a photo of the young officer LaFiamma in his beat uniform, his hair neatly combed. Levon smiled. The photographs presented him with a totally new picture of his partner.

Levon turned another page and his eyes came to rest upon the newspaper clipping. The photo underneath wasn´t glued to the page and he picked it up, slowly turning it over and reading the names on the back. So this was Joe´s partner, the one who had been killed, and about whose death Joe felt guilty.

Finally Levon put the picture down and closed the album. Instantly two things caught his attention. The first was a metal screw cap lying beside the album. He picked it up and turned it between his fingers. It was the cap of a brandy bottle. Where did it come from? He remembered having a brandy bottle of that brand in one of the high boards in the living room.

The second item was a small plastic container he had nudged with the tip of his shoe, and that had then rolled on the slightly uneven floor. He reached out to pick it up and slowly turned it in his hand. It was a container for some kind of medication and the label stated that it had contained sleeping pills. He recalled that the pills had been prescribed by his GP three years ago, when he had had trouble sleeping after his wife had been killed. Levon remembered that he had only taken a few of the pills. The almost full container had been stored untouched in the medicine cabinet for the past three years. Now the container was empty and the lid lay on the coffee table beside the screw cap.

Levon froze as the significance hit him.

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

Levon came across Joe on the back porch. The Northerner was slumped in one corner of the swing, barely conscious. At his feet lay the empty brandy bottle.

"Damn, LaFiamma, what have you done?" Levon shook his partner by his shoulders.

Joe opened his eyes. He seemed surprised. "Whada yah doin heere? Ain´t yah workin? Leavvv meee allun…" Joe´s speech was slurry with the effect of the alcohol.

Levon crouched down in front of Joe to smell his breath. Perhaps Joe had just emptied the bottle onto the lawn. But there was no mistaking.

"Yack, how much have you had? What do you think you´re doing?" Levon tried hard to remember how much had been in the bottle. As far as he could recall it had been almost full when he had last seen it.

"Joe, did yah take those pills?" There was no reaction from his partner. Levon shook Joe again, hard. "Did you take all of those pills, damnit?"

When Joe did not answer Levon sat down on the swing beside him. He put his arm around Joe´s neck and then forced his head down. Joe started to fight him but his resistance was uncoordinated and ineffective. Levon held Joe´s head in the tight grip of his bent left arm. His right hand got hold of Joe´s jaw, trying to force it open. Joe muttered something unintelligible and tried to squirm free from Levon´s forceful grasp. But Levon would not let go. Finally he managed to force Joe´s jaw open and the instant he felt Joe give in, he stuck his index finger as deeply into Joe´s throat as he could. He pressed Joe´s tongue down hard. Joe gaged immediately. In one large gush the content of his stomach splashed across the porch.

Levon caught Joe as he slumped forward, moaning. He scanned the puddle at their feet. In the liquid he could detect a large number of small white tablets. Luckily they had not yet started to dissolve. Joe must have taken them quite recently. The question whether any of the tablets might have remained in Joe´s stomach was answered when Joe started to heave, and brought up several smaller quantities of fluid as his stomach rejected to calm down. For an agonizingly long time Joe just couldn´t stop puking. Levon was at a loss. The painful moans of his partner left no doubt as to the extent of Joe´s suffering. But all Levon could do was to prevent Joe from falling off the swing. So he just held on and waited for the bout to pass.

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

"LaFiamma you´re an even greater idiot than I thought." Levon looked down at the curled up form of his partner on the bed. When after half an hour the retching had finally stopped, he had dragged Joe inside. Now Joe was dozing on Levon´s bed, still moaning now and then, tossing and turning and shivering. Levon sat down beside him.

"I feel terribly sick," Joe moaned, clutching at his stomach.

"Hhu-hhu, your own fault. What made you start binging in the first place? What gave you the idea you could put up with hard liquor with that sick stomach of yours?" Levon felt for his partner but he was careful not to show any pity.

"Why did yah come home? By the end of your shift I would have been gone an´ yah coud ´ave ´ad your house bag ta yahselve..." Joe´s speech got slurry again as he slipped into a state of semi-somnolent.

Levon sighed. He hoped that in his present state Joe would not pose a danger to himself. He went out to clean up the mess on the porch and after that he quickly called Esteban. His temporary partner had managed to sign him off from duty without arousing any suspicion on Joanne´s part.

Then there was the question what to do about Joe. There was no denying that this had been an attempted suicide. Levon realized that, had he come home as usual in the late afternoon, Joe might have already been too far gone…he shuddered. Should he take Joe to the hospital? The shrinks there would for sure stick him in the closed ward. It would be the right thing to do, but what would happen to Joe in the long run? Levon suddenly realized how good they were working together as a team. But if the HPD was informed about the incident, Joe would not be able to go back to his job for a long time.

No, that was not what Levon wanted to happen to Joe.

On the other hand Levon was not sure if he could take the responsibility for his partner under the given circumstances. At last he decided to wait how things would progress. Right now Joe seemed to be asleep and probably would be for a while under the influence of the alcohol. Levon stepped up to the bed. All of a sudden he had an idea. Cautiously he got hold of Joe´s left hand and pulled it upwards to the headboard. He reached for his handcuffs and tied one to Joe´s wrist, the other to the headboard.

"Hey, whadda yah think yah´re doin´? Yah violatin my rightz as a citizen!" Joe started to fight the restraint.

"Oh yeah, sure. You´ve got the right to remain silent. Anything you say, may be used against you…" Levon mockingly started to mirandize Joe. "But come to think of it, I am pretty sure you just forfeited your citizen rights at least temporarily by trying to kill yourself."

Joe´s resistance was short lived. The tirade of Italian curses he had furiously started to utter trailed off in an unintelligible mumbling.

Levon stayed close for a few minutes. But nothing else happened, Joe had nodded off again. With a sense of relief Levon covered him with a blanket. Now he could leave Joe alone without running the risk of Joe harming himself again. Quietly Levon closed the curtains and left for the barn.

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

The pain that shot through him was like a flash of fire and it was so intense that it took his breath away. For an instant Joe thought someone had stabbed him and he bolted upright. Or at least he tried to. Someone held him down forcefully by the shoulder and he cried out as his muscles strained.

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

Levon never would have thought he´d sit here again only 72 hours later. Again the ER waiting room was just as quiet as it had been in the early hours of Saturday. But the anxiety Levon was feeling for his partner was in no way comparable to what he had felt only three days ago.

Joe had started up beside him on the bed in the middle of the night, crying out in pain, violently fighting the handcuff. At first he had not been fully awake. And even though Levon had uncuffed Joe immediately, it had been too late to prevent the bruise on Joe´s wrist and the strain to his shoulder.

When Joe had come fully around he had complained of a severe stomach ache, and he had been sick almost at once, though his stomach had been empty. Levon was more than worried and when Joe had finally pleadingly asked for a doctor Levon had not hesitated another second. He half carried his moaning partner to the Jimmy and rushed him to the hospital with wailing sirens. After delivering Joe to the care of the medical staff of the ER, Levon was condemned to inaction. Knowing that Joe, just like himself, would normally downplay any health problem, Levon was extremely alarmed by the fact that his partner had so desperately asked for medical attendance.

It was well over an hour later when a doctor entered the waiting room, and asked if there was anybody there for Joe LaFiamma. As Levon was the only person present the question seemed to be a mere rhetorical one. Levon jumped up and met the doc in the middle of the room, stating that Joe was his partner on the police force and currently staying at his place.

The doc did not beat about the bush but came right to the point. "As I see in his file Mr. LaFiamma was here early Saturday morning. At that time he only had mild symptoms of an acute gastritis. Normally we would have thought those to be gone by now, especially with the prescribed medication."

Levon knew what the doc was aiming at but he said nothing.

"However, the symptoms Mr. LaFiamma is suffering from now are really very severe and not at all what we would have expected. Mr. Lundy, can you tell us anything about the past three days? Did he take the medication? What did he eat? We need to know what we are dealing with. Otherwise we will not be able to come up with an effective treatment."

The stern look on the doc´s face made Levon cringe. He knew he could not withhold vital information for Joe´s own sake. He pinched the bridge of his nose as he reluctantly started to speak. "He took the medication all right but yesterday things got a bit out of hand."

"How?" The doc frowned.

"He drank some alcohol and I guess his stomach did not take that too kindly."

"What amount did he drink? What type of alcohol?" The doc took notes on the chart he was carrying.

"A bottle of brandy," Levon conceded.

"What?" The doc shot him a look of total disbelief.

"Like I said, he drank a bottle of brandy. But I was able to make him bring it up not too long after he had downed it."

"Well, that explains a lot. Is Mr. LaFiamma a heavy drinker?" The question quite clearly implied that the doc had immediately categorized Joe to be an alcoholic.

Levon felt the acute heat of anger flare up. "My partner is not an alcoholic. He hardly ever drinks anything but water, let alone any sort of alcohol. I don´t know why he did it and it was a total exception." Levon knew he could not risk to give any further details without revealing the attempted suicide. But he sensed that the doc was waiting for him to explain Joe´s behavior.

"Listen, my partner has been under a lot of pressure lately. I guess that also led to his totally untypical drinking lapse."

The doc raised an eyebrow. "And would that also account for the bruise on his wrist and the overstrained shoulder?"

"Well, no, I mean, that´s my fault." Levon wondered how to get out of this without ringing hollow.  
"I cuffed him to the bed because I wanted to keep him from doing it again while I was asleep."

"Huh huh? And that is all there is to it, you are saying?" The grilling the doc was putting him through was almost as unpleasant as what they usually did with their suspects.

"Yeah, that´s all there is to it. If he hadn´t suffered from the gastritis in the first place, he might not even have had a hangover due to the fact that he did not keep the booze down for long." Levon hoped that his statement did not sound too irrational.

The doc resorted to writing something on the chart for a moment before resuming to speak. His gaze was still stern. "Ok, there is no use to speculate any further. Now that we know what led to your partner´s state we can plan the necessary treatment."

"So what´s wrong with him then?" Levon found it difficult to hide his nervousness.

"As you said yourself, Mr. LaFiamma´s stomach did indeed not take the alcohol kindly. I suspect that his stomach lining is far worse than it was when he left here on Saturday. We have put him on an IV with fluid and painkillers. He is dehydrated. I venture to guess he hasn´t eaten properly in the last three days?"

Levon nodded without going into further detail.

"OK, then the IV is indispensable. We also gave him something to calm him down a bit, he was extremely worked up about the pain and the nausea. We will keep him here for a gastroscopy which we will hopefully be able to carry out in the morning." The doc finished scribbling on the chart.

"And then?"

"Well, that depends on the outcome of the gastroscopy." Again the doc eyed him. "Are you absolutely sure there is nothing else we need to know, Mr. Lundy?"

"Yeah, I told you everything I know." Levon hoped the lie wasn´t too obvious. "Can I see him?"

"No, sorry, we were glad we could calm him down. He´s asleep now." Seeing Levon´s tense stance the doc added: "You may call around tomorrow noon. Then we will probably know more. Good night, Mr. Lundy."

With that the doc headed back to the ER and left Levon to his own thoughts.

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

Levon yawned. The coffee at the ranch hadn´t helped much to wake him up. The night had just been too short. On top of everything he had reproached himself for what had happened to Joe. He felt he should have been more wary though deep down inside he doubted that he could have prevented things.

The morning at the bullpen passed slowly but at last all colleagues had left for lunch at Chicken´s. Levon took the opportunity to phone the hospital without the chance of being overheard. He was anxious to learn how Joe was doing. The receptionist put him through to the ward to which Joe had been admitted. A young female voice answered the phone.

"Dr. Lennard speaking. What can I do for you?"

"My name´s Levon Lundy, I was told to call today about Joe LaFiamma. He´s a patient of yours."

"Oh yes, Mr. Lundy. Dr. Martinos said you´d call. And the patient asked if you would come to see him."

"So how is he then?" The moment Levon said the words, he noticed that Joanne stepped up to him from behind. He cringed. There was no way to avoid her hearing this now. It was not like he could just put down the receiver and deny the call had ever happened.

"Oh, Mr. LaFiamma is already a bit better." The young woman sounded very positive.

"How did the…the…ah, you know what I mean, how did it go?" Levon felt the heat of embarrassment rise on his face. He was well aware that Joanne was hearing every word of this.

"Oh, you mean the gastroscopy. That went well. It proved what we suspected. His stomach lining is pretty enflamed but fortunately we could eliminate the possibility of a gastric ulcer."

Levon felt relieved though he could hardly gauge the significance of the medical information the doctor was providing. "Can I see him then?"

"Oh, yes, sure. As I said, he asked if you would come in to visit him."

"You mean, he will not be discharged then?" Levon just wanted to make sure what to expect.

"No, Mr. Lundy, it´s too soon for that. Mr. LaFiamma is still on the IV and I guess we will keep him here for another day or two. Should I tell him that you´ll be dropping by in the evening?"

"Yes, please tell him I will, and thanks a lot." When Levon put down the phone he could literally feel Joanne transfix him with her eyes from behind. He turned around to face her.

"You mind telling me what that was about, Levon?"

Levon sighed. He knew he could not lie to Joanne, she would find out for sure. And he did not want to put the good working relation with his superior at stake. "I just called the hospital to see how Joe is doing." He opted for the matter-of-fact approach.

"Are you saying that Joe is in hospital again? When were you going to tell me?" He realized that she could hardly suppress her annoyance.

He knew his face gave him away, but what the hell. "Yeah, I had to take him there last night. He suffered a relapse."

Joanne looked grave, but her anger seemed to slowly evaporate. "How is he? What happened?"

The second question was the one Levon would rather not answer. "He´s ok. They did a gastroscopy this morning. The doc said that Joe´s stomach lining is still pretty upset, that´s why he felt so sick and was severely in pain. But fortunately they did not find anything else. So he will just need to stay in hospital for a day or two."

"Levon, when you see him tell him to get well real soon." Her face was almost mellow. "And, Levon."

"Yeah?"

"Don´t try to hide things from me." She smiled at him and he knew she meant well.

He donned his hat and headed for the door. "Will do, Lieutenant."

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI  
 **  
**The last days had passed in a blur and Joe had to admit that he was not at all keen to relive any of the experiences he had gone through, neither in reality nor in his mind. He was just glad that the docs had put him on an IV with a potent painkiller and that he had been sedated during that gruesome medical examination.

He knew he had given up the control over his own life the moment he had downed the sleeping pills with the bottle of brandy, and in retrospect he could not even say why he had done it. But he knew he was really lucky Levon had found him. He was not sure what his partner had told the docs, but Levon had obviously not told them about the attempted suicide or things would certainly have turned out differently. But no shrink had approached him and the ward he had been admitted to seemed normal enough.

Joe knew he owed Levon, owed him big time. Right now he did not feel well enough to think about the future but perhaps that was something he could do later. The only thing Joe knew for certain was that he needed to thank his partner for saving his life.

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

Levon quietly entered the room, and pulling up the chair to the bed he sat down. Joe was asleep and he looked much younger than when he was awake. Levon had never seen his partner deeply asleep before. Levon wondered at the change Joe seemed to have gone through. He was pale and he obviously had lost quite a lot of weight. The IV was still attached to Joe´s left arm, the drops of clear substance providing him with the necessary nutrition, vital fluid and medication.

The eyes that opened slowly were not the usual teal blue but a bit clouded. "Levon?"

"Yeah?"

"I gotta tell you something."

"That can wait."

"No, I…"

"Don´t worry, there´s really no need…Go back to sleep, Joe."

"Mm…?" was the last word Joe whispered before he nodded off again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

They talked a few days later, on the ride from the hospital to the ranch.

"Joe, you promise not to do anything like that ever again?" Levon looked at his still pale passenger

"Like what?"

"Don´t play dumb, you know what I mean." Levon was trying to sound casual. He did not want Joe to detect the anxiety and tension in his own voice. The whole subject was far too important to be left undiscussed.

"I promise. I know it was downright foolish what I did. You don´t have to be afraid. I´ve come around alright." Joe´s gaze was open and honest. "You know, when I woke and you were sitting at my bed, I wanted to say how grateful I am for what you did." A shy smile flashed across Joe´s face.

Levon returned the smile as the Jimmy came to a halt in front of the ranch house. "That´s good. You don´t have to thank me. It´s more important to me to know that you will be ok again, partner?" The question implied stood between them for an instant.

"Yeah, I will be ok. It might still take some time, but yes, I will be ok." Joe nodded, then got out of the car and stepped onto the porch. His moves were cautious, hesitant. Levon had the impression that his partner had returned a different person. He wondered how Joe would take it if he saw that he had stashed all of Joe´s things into the wardrobe in the guestroom. At first Joe seemed slightly irritated when he entered the guestroom.

"I hope you don´t mind…I didn´t want your expensive suits to get all crumpled." Levon noticed that Joe blushed. He had seen the price tag on that new suit and he knew exactly why Joe was embarrassed.

"No…no, that´s alright. Thanks." Joe looked around. Levon had put an armchair and a small coffee table into the guestroom. Now the room looked more comfortable and more like a small living room.

"I promise not to overstrain your hospitality," Joe said in a small voice. "But I am not sure when I´ll be able to afford to move to a place of my own." He did not meet Levon´s eyes.

"Don´t worry about that. I don´t need the room."

"But I don´t want to stay here for free. I´ll pay you some rent, I promise. Or I could do some work while you´re on duty."

"Don´t you dare. You´re on sick leave, remember? That´s something you get to convalesce, not to work."

"Ok," Joe said contritely. "But I can´t sit around all day, can I?"

"Well, for a beginning I think that´s exactly what you should do. I´ve put out a deck chair for you under the trees. It´s really very nice out there at this time of the year. Supper is in half an hour." Levon took a folded sheet of paper from his jacket pocket and handed it to Joe. "Here´s the list of things you´re allowed to eat, the doc said you´re to stick to that diet for at least two weeks. I´ve bought all of that stuff and the fridge is full. So just help yourself." He shot Joe a stern look. "Oh, and by the way, I put away all the booze, so don´t get any ideas into that thick head of yours."

Joe rolled his eyes. "Nah, there´s no danger of that. I´ve learned my lesson." He sat down on the bed and picked up the photo album that Levon had put on the nightstand. When he turned the first pages he noticed that Levon was still standing in the doorway.

"I hope you don´t mind that I looked at the pictures." Levon felt awkward to have invaded Joe´s privacy.

"No, that´s ok." The eyes that came up from the album were a bit sad.

"You seem to have been a lively kid," Levon put in, smiling at his partner.

"You can bet your bottom dollar on that." Joe´s face lit up with a tiny smile that was just as mischievous as the one Levon had seen in some of the pictures showing Joe as a boy.

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

The week started downright boring. Levon went back to work and Joe stayed at the ranch. Though he enjoyed to sleep in, Joe did not like to be idle all day. When he had finished breakfast he did the washing up and made the beds. Aimlessly he wandered through the rooms looking for something to occupy himself with. Levon had warned him not to do any housework but Joe knew that, just like himself, his partner had little time beside the job for the unavoidable domestic chores. And in addition Levon had to look after his horse Fooler. So Joe considered to dust and hoover the place. But in the end he did not find a single dust bunny. Levon must have cleaned the whole house only recently.

Joe sighed. He knew he mustn´t give in to the gloom but he could not suppress the sentiment. He just felt lonely. If he were in Chicago there would always be someone around to keep him company, a friend, a cousin, an aunt, anyone. But he had promised Levon not to brood and he intended to stick to that promise, no matter what.

At last he stepped up to the bookcase in the living room and his index finger slowly went from one book to the next, almost caressing the back of the books. With amazement Joe took in the titles of classic and modern literature. He wondered if he might have to revise his judgment, perhaps Levon was not at all the superficial cowboy he had mistaken him for. But perhaps the books belonged to Levon´s late wife Caroline who had died more than three years ago. Joe pulled out a well-worn paperback and opened it. He looked at the issue date. It had been released a year after Caroline´s death. Still it looked as if it had been read several times. Perhaps Levon had bought it second hand. Leafing through the pages he came across a bill from the Houston bookshop it had obviously been obtained at. The date stated quite clearly that it had been bought two years ago and it had been new then.

Joe decided that this might be worthwhile reading. With the book under his arm he stepped outside and went in search of the deckchair Levon had put out for him.

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

The spot under the trees where Levon had set up the deck chair was indeed very nice. It rendered a good view over the adjacent fields, yet it allowed enough privacy and most importantly it was fairly shady. The late summer weather was still quite warm but soon it would be replaced by the more wet and windy autumn season.

Joe sat down and started to read. He liked the book right away. It didn´t take long before the story engrossed him. He was halfway through when his eyes grew heavy and after a few more pages he nodded off.

He couldn´t say exactly what had woken him, the strange sound close to his ear or the soft tickling on the back of his hand. He started up in surprise rather than fright but warily pulled back his hand. From the corner of his eye he saw a motion, and when he turned his head he looked into the emerald green eyes of a cat.

Not being familiar with any kind of domestic animal Joe was unsure what to do. So he just waited. The cat looked at him with friendly curiosity and seemed to gauge him in turn. After a moment it made a step towards him and the sound he had heard in his sleep became louder. The cat was purring.

At least Joe knew that this was a friendly sound. Cautiously he held out his hand. The cat stretched its neck and sniffed at his fingers. Then it rubbed its head against Joe´s hand, purring even louder. Joe was still wary but by now he was sure this was not a dangerous animal. When he started to run his hand lightly over the head and ears of the feline, it seemed totally content. Joe smiled. Who would have thought he would ever make friends with a cat?

The growling of his own stomach made him look at his watch. It was way past lunchtime. He was not supposed to skip meals and medication so he got up and headed for the house, almost tripping over the cat that was out-speeding him on his route to the backdoor. When he opened it the animal slid in and headed straight for the kitchen. Even if he had tried he would not have been able to keep it from getting in.

"Well, looks like you´re used to being fed here, I just wonder why Levon did not tell me you were a regular guest."

Even though there had never been any pets in the LaFiamma household, Joe did not find it strange to speak to an animal. As a child he had always longed for a pet and his imagination had been kindled by the countless animated Disney flicks he had watched in his youth.

Trying to maneuver around the cat that was literally curling around his ankles, Joe took some eggs out of the fridge. When his gaze fell on the milk, he picked up the container, poured some into a small dish and put it on the floor. The cat started to lick the milk but halted after an instant and looked at him expectantly.

"What?" Joe realized that his question was ridiculous. Well, if this wasn´t what the cat had expected it had to go somewhere else for lunch.

He prepared scrambled eggs and toast and brewed some tea. All the while the cat just sat there, watching him with its intense green eyes. When he was about to sit down at the kitchen table to eat the cat started to speak. Well not exactly, but it made little chackering sounds, quite obviously voicing its desire to share his meal. Joe hesitated. According to the diet he was supposed to stick to he had not seasoned the eggs with salt or pepper. He opened the cupboard and retrieved a saucer, put some of the scrambled eggs on it and set it down in front of the cat. The cat sniffed the eggs but did not start to feed on them.

"Well, if this isn´t right for you either I can´t help you," Joe said and sat down. They were both eying each other in turn. The moment Joe picked up the fork and started to eat, the cat started to feed on the eggs as well. Joe was amazed. He halted in his action and the cat did too. He resumed eating and the pet attacked the eggs on the saucer. He couldn´t help but smile. This was really funny and probably most unusual. He would have to ask Levon how he had trained the cat to show this particular behavior.

Joe finished his lunch, took his medication and cleaned up everything. He brewed another tea and when it was ready he wanted to take the mug back outside to the deck chair. He realized that the cat was sitting in the doorway as if waiting for him. As he headed outside it jumped up and galloped out ahead of him, straight for the group of trees under which the chair was standing. It moved fast but after a few paces halted and looked back as if to check whether he was following. Then it sat down beside the chair and started to groom itself at length.

Joe settled in the chair. The air had cooled a bit and he had brought a blanket. He set the mug of tea down on the ground beside the deck chair and covered his legs with the blanket. As he picked up the paperback to resume reading, the cat jumped up onto his legs. First it seemed to gauge his reaction, and when he let it happen the feline settled into the gap between his legs. It meowed as if to voice its content and stretched to perfectly fit the space.

Joe smiled. He had never expected the animal to be so tame. It seemed to trust him completely. It purred loudly and while his hand petted the wonderfully soft fur, the feline closed its eyes. He felt himself relax as well and faintly realized that he did no longer feel lonely. Instead he was amazed how content he was. Five minutes and a few pages later he had fallen asleep with the smile still on his lips.

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

Levon had refrained from calling the ranch to check on Joe during his working hours. He did not want Joe to think he did not trust him. But as the end of his shift came Levon was eager to get home. He pulled into the driveway and quickly took some groceries out of the Jimmy he had picked up on the way home. Putting them down in the kitchen he noticed the cleaned dishes Joe had left to dry beside the sink. Obviously his partner had eaten and taken care of things around the house. A good sign.

He found Joe in the deckchair deeply asleep. The book had slipped from his hand. Levon looked at the title of the paperback and recalled he had liked it so much that he had read it three times in succession. The serious topic of the book came to mind and made Levon wonder at the relaxed expression and the smile on Joe´s face.

After a moment Levon bent down and touched the still full mug of tea beside the deck chair. It was cold. Joe must have been asleep for quite a while, otherwise he would have drunken the tea while it had still been warm. He considered to let Joe sleep but it was getting too fresh to stay outside even with the blanket. Cautiously he touched Joe´s shoulder.

"Joe?"

"Mmh?" Joe moved and opened his eyes. He looked down at his legs and around as if searching for something.

"I´m here." Levon smiled.

"I know, where´s the cat?" Joe sat up.

"There´s no cat, never has been on this ranch."

"Well, there was today. It stayed with me all day." Joe got up and looked around once more, searching.

"Are yah sure it wasn´t a white mouse?" Levon asked teasingly.

Joe picked up the book and threw it into Levon´s direction, sulking mockingly.

Levon ducked his head and laughed. "Come on, let´s get inside, it´s getting cold. I´ll make us some supper."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"So tell me about the mysterious cat, what kind of cat was it?"

Levon had finished his plate of poached fish and steamed vegetables. He had made the concession to join Joe´s diet at least for the meals they shared and he had to admit he didn´t like it. But he tried not to be too obvious. He knew that Joe´s stomach couldn´t take anything else yet and it was important for him to stick to the recommended ingredients. The unseasoned food was boring, if not downright disgusting at times.

"I don´t know, it was like a small tiger…" Joe said between bites, chewing his food slowly and with no apparent appetite.

"…tabby?"

"What?"

"A feline with stripes or dots is called a tabby."

"How am I supposed to know," Joe pouted. "Anyway, it was quite large and had white paws, a white belly and a white breast."

"…probably a stray."

"How can you tell?" Joe scooped the vegetables around his plate.

"Well, strays are always thin and a bit wild, mostly wary of people but keen to get something to feed on. And many of them are sick."

"Well, then it wasn´t a stray. It was very well fed, tame and totally trusting and…and…"

"And what?"

Joe seemed reluctant to say what was on his mind. Finally he said: "It knew how to speak to humans…" His tone of voice reflected a tinge of embarrassment.

Levon suppressed a laugh. "It could speak?"

Joe rolled his eyes. "Well, not exactly, but yeah, it was quite articulate. It knew how to put across what it wanted and I think in a way that showed it was used to communicating with humans."

"Huh huh." Levon smirked benevolently. He noticed that Joe smiled as well, so he wasn´t offended. "There are no cats either up or down the road that I know of. But maybe I need an update on any newcomers. Did you feed it?"

"Yeah, I hope you don´t mind. First I gave it some milk but it wouldn´t take it. Then it shared my scrambled eggs."

"Cats are not supposed to drink fresh milk because if they do they get diarrhea."

"Oh, I didn´t know that. But obviously the cat knew." Joe seemed to hang on to his own thoughts for a moment. "It was nice to have company," he finally said in a small voice, almost as if speaking to himself.

Levon got the point at once. "It will probably come back," he reassured his partner encouragingly.

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

The next day passed in pretty much the same way. The cat did indeed turn up shortly before noon, demanding admittance to the house by noisily scratching the screen door and causing it to bang at regular intervals.

Joe took it as another indicator that the cat knew how to get its way in the human world. He rejoiced at the prospect of again having company and in turn offered a treat of poached fish which was gulped down with great enthusiasm.

The weather forecast in the morning had said it would be the last nice day for a while. This made Joe decide to enjoy another afternoon under the trees. He had picked another book from the bookcase and settled in the deck chair. The cat had followed him and went through the same ritual as the day before. It groomed itself thoroughly and settled in the gap between Joe´s legs. He rubbed its ears and head, provoking the usual loud purring.

"Well, I guess, now that we have come to know each other, it is time to give you a proper name. Are you a girl or a boy then?" Joe had really no idea how to distinguish between the sexes. He looked at the cat and realized that he would have to do with a vague guess. He turned the thought over in his mind and decided that a male name was in order.

"Hey, what do you think of Rocky?" Joe asked after giving it a moment´s thought.

As if to voice its agreement the cat stretched to its full length, its impressive pink paws spreading and reaching out for Joe, at last touching Joe´s hand that had stopped petting the cat´s head. It meowed and closed its eyes as Joe resumed the stroking motion that soothed him as well as the cat.

So that was settled now, his new companion had a name.

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

This afternoon Joe slept only lightly and he woke when Rocky rose to his four legs and stretched, presenting the typically arched back rather as an exercise than as a gesture of menace. The cat was really tall, so tall that Joe assumed it must be a male. Rocky once again rubbed the hand that reached out to him, but then he jumped down from the chair and rolled in the grass. After a few minutes he got up and with one last look back at the man in the deck chair Rocky headed into the grassy field. A moment later he was gone. Joe had gotten up and had tried to follow the animal with his eyes, but had soon lost sight of it in the high grass.

Joe felt a pang of sadness. At once he became aware of the enforced solitude. He had not experienced before how life-enhancing the company of a pet could be. He just hoped he would see Rocky again.

Looking up at the sky he realized that Rocky had probably felt the coming rain. Joe folded up the deck chair and carried it to the barn. He did not want it to deteriorate by exposing it to the rain.

Levon´s horse Fooler was out in the pasture. But that was something Joe need not concern himself with. Levon had made that clear. Not unless a hurricane was threatening to attack Houston. And the probability of such an event was extremely low.

So without anything particular on his mind Joe began to inspect the barn. It wasn´t a large building. But it had enough space for four horses and in the hayloft there was also a small room for a stable hand to sleep in. Levon had mentioned that he occasionally slept there but for what reason he had not explained.

On the walls hung numerous ancient agricultural tools. Though the back of the barn was almost too dark to see curiosity got the better of Joe. With his hand up over his head to ward off the cobwebs he cautiously stepped into the dark. There was no lighting at the ceiling but he could discern a blind window to his right. He had to use sheer force to open it, and the wind suddenly blowing the dust off the window sill right into his face made him cough and sneeze. He stepped back and waited for the cloud to settle.

When his eyes had adjusted to the dim light his gaze wandered over the items stacked in the corner. Closest to the wall and almost buried behind other rubbish he could distinguish the handle bar of an old bicycle. Seeing it and the idea flashing up in his mind to make use of the old thing were one.

Joe stepped closer and tried to pull the bicycle from behind the other stuff without success. In the end he had to remove each and every item that was blocking his way before his look was no longer obstructed. The means of transportation probably dated back to the late fifties and Joe wondered how it had gotten here. He would have to get new tires and inner tubes. Well, perhaps also new brakes and some other things…

All of a sudden he realized that he had come upon two things he had longed for very badly in his childhood and both of them within two days. Back then having a pet and a bicycle had been denied to him.

Only yesterday he had bemoaned his fate. Perhaps he had to revise his view upon his life as well. Perhaps he had to put things into a new perspective. While he was still pondering these thoughts the downpour of rain on the roof of the barn was starting to make a drumming sound.

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

Levon could hardly see through the rain, the windshield wipers were having a hard time coping with the tremendous amount of water. He speeded from the Jimmy to the house and was surprised to find it empty. Peeking out of the backdoor he noticed that the deck chair was gone. The door to the barn was half open. Pulling up the collar of his jeans jacket he ran over to the barn.

He did not see anyone as he entered, but from the back of the building he could hear metallic sounds. Shaking off the droplets of rain from his jacket he headed in that direction. The lighting was poor in this part of the structure. He had never bothered to hang up a lamp at the far end. There just had not been a point, he did not need to work inside. Normally he would take everything he had to do outside into the light of the sun.

Today it was different. The sun was nowhere to be seen and anyone who wanted to do some kind of work would have to do it inside to avoid to get soaking wet. There was just the question what kind of work Joe was doing.

Levon followed the sounds towards the back of the barn. There was a bit of light coming in from a side window he had not even known existed. Specks of dust were dancing in the rays of light and at last he was able to see Joe before him, bent down and doing something to a thing Levon could not identify in the poor light.

Joe must have heard him coming. He looked up and with his hand wiped across his face, leaving a streak of black grease on his nose.

Levon laughed.

"What´s so funny?" Joe straightened his back, looking up indignantly.

"You´ll see when you look in the mirror."

Joe raised his hand to wipe across his face again, but Levon caught him by the wrist.

"Don´t."

"Ouch!" It had been the bruised wrist and the tough had been painful.

"Sorry, but I wanted to keep you from greasing your face even more." Levon pulled out a handkerchief and offered it to Joe. When Joe just looked sheepish, Levon spit on the cloth and wiped it across Joe´s nose. Joe squinted but stood still. The cloth Levon presented to him was black.

Joe looked at his hands and realized that they were black with dust and grease. "Damnit!" He looked at his sweat pants. "Shit." They weren´t looking much cleaner.

"What are you doing here anyway?"

Joe seemed to be embarrassed. "I…I put away the deck chair because the weather was changing…and I found an old bicycle…I hope you don´t mind… I always wanted to have one as a child… but I don´t think I can mend it…there´s just too much that´s broken…" Joe suddenly was strangely agitated.

"Joe!"

"Yeah, what?" Joe looked flabbergasted.

"Cool it boy, everything´s fine. It´s ok." Levon looked at him in mild bewilderment.

Joe shook his head as if to get rid of the sentiment. Then he brushed his hand across his face, regardless of the grease on his palm. He looked at the open hand and then at Levon. And he laughed.

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

"I really don´t know if I can put up with that slop, even if it were only for another day." Joe disgustedly looked at the food on his plate.

"If I were you I´d think twice before I´d eat anything that´s not on that diet plan," Levon tried to render moral support.

"Hey, you´re not the one chewing cardboard here," Joe uttered, not without a trace of fury. "Don´t you think I know that you´ve dropped by at Chicken´s on your way home?"

Levon cringed. Joe was right about that. After only one day of joining the diet, Levon had on the pretext of some urgent business eaten supper at their usual hangout. It wasn´t like he couldn´t understand Joe´s frustration, but on the other hand a good meal was sometimes the only highlight of Levon´s day. That was the main reason he had, after only one day, resumed his usual eating habits.

"Well, the more rigidly you stick to the doctor´s orders the quicker you´ll be back on track. The state your stomach is in is your own fault, you know that quite well. I´ll go and check on Fooler." Levon turned to leave for the barn. He had brought Fooler in from the pasture and he wanted to give her a quick rubdown. This would give him the opportunity to escape the direct confrontation and to give Joe the chance to resume eating undisturbed.

In the barn Levon´s chores were performed quickly. Afterwards he took a look at the bicycle. It was old but he was sure if he could get new tires, Joe could repair it. He wondered what Joe wanted with the old thing. He had always seemed to be totally fixated on cars, sports cars to be more precise. That he would find pleasure in an old bicycle was hard to believe.

When Levon returned to the house Joe had left the kitchen, the table was empty and the dishes were washed and back in the cupboard. On a whim Levon opened the trash can. He sighed. Joe had dumped the food. This was going to be a long two weeks.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Wednesday was a very wet affair. No prospect of lounging around in the deck chair. The sky was dark and the wind had developed into a full-grown storm.

Joe turned in his bed and drew the cover over his head. He had been up to peek out the door and see if Rocky had turned up. But of course Rocky hadn´t been there. Wasn´t it common knowledge that cats hated water? Without much hope to see his new companion seeking him out in this kind of weather, Joe saw no point in getting up. He hated the food, so why bother with breakfast?

By noon he was starving but still felt too belligerent to give in to the diet regime.

He got up and went from one cupboard to the next. Finally he came across a bar of chocolate. He took it to the bedroom and crawled back into bed. Slowly he peeled the chocolate out of the paper wrap and the foil. It smelled delicious. Cautiously he nibbled a piece. It melted in his mouth and he closed his eyes to savor it.

Half an hour later the bar of chocolate was gone.

Another hour into the afternoon his stomach was giving him hell.

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

The rattling sound of the window was not caused by the storm. It was too rhythmical. Though he felt terribly sick, Joe got up and stepped over to the window. When he drew the curtains he looked at a pink paw that was pressed against the wet pane at intervals. Quickly he pushed the window up and Rocky jumped in without hesitation. He shook himself vehemently and Joe stepped back from the drops falling on his naked feet. Rocky greeted him with a loud meow and rubbed his wet scrubby fur against Joe´s naked leg.

Joe jumped back. "Hey, what about drying yourself before getting intimate?" His stomach ache almost forgotten he went to fetch a towel and rubbed Rocky from head to tail. The cat seemed to appreciate his effort and jumped onto the bed.

Joe sat down beside him and petted the moist feline. His hand halted at the knotted bandana around the cat´s neck. Rocky lifted his paw to strip the bandana off.

"Well, who put that on you? You want it to come off?" Joe loosened the knot and took the piece of cloth off. It looked like a large folded handkerchief. It was as wet as Rocky had been and when Joe unfolded it he noticed a piece of wet paper that had obviously been rolled into the cloth. He picked it up and smoothed it. There were blotches of ink on the paper, somebody had scribbled something on it. But the water had rendered the writing almost illegible. With some effort Joe spelled out the words.

 _Help me…hol..ng me prisone…he is dangero…_

Though Joe read the words, they did not enter his consciousness. Before he could think about their significance, he felt a massive quantity of saliva gather in his mouth and as the bile violently rose in his throat he was hardly able to make it to the bathroom in time.

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

On his way home Levon had dropped by a friend´s place who was a passionate mechanic. His business was cars but his passion was bicycles. He rummaged around his body shop and finally came up with two tires and fitting inner tubes. He also had found some brake pads and other spare parts that might be put to good use on the old bicycle. After a short conversation Levon packed the stuff into the Jimmy and headed home.

He took the spare parts to the barn and left them beside the bicycle. Fooler complained about her confinement to her box. But the weather had been just too bad to let her out to pasture. He put some hay up for her and filled her bucket with fresh water.

The house was quiet. He looked through all the rooms and wondered at the clutter in the bathroom. The door to the guest room was half open and the lamp on the nightstand was on. As Levon peeked inside he detected Joe doubled up with pain on the bed, clutching a towel. In the curve of his bent knees lay a tabby cat. It looked up at the intruder.

"Joe, what´s wrong?" Levon stepped up to the bed and tried to get a glimpse at Joe´s face. He was pretty sure that Joe had been sick again.

But Joe turned away from his scrutiny. "Nothing, I´m fine."

"So what´s new? What have you done to yourself this time?"

"Nothing," came the stubborn retort.

"Well, please yourself. I´ll make some supper for myself now. If you need anything you can find me in the kitchen." Levon turned to the door.

"Sorry Levon, please stay." There was an urgency in the voice that made Levon halt in mid-motion. He turned back to the bed and sat down.

Joe turned toward him. He was very pale. "Would you make me some tea?" he asked in a small voice.

"Sure." Levon´s eyes wandered down to the cat. "So that´s the mystery cat?"

"Rocky."

"Like Rocky Roccoon?"

"No, like hitting rock bottom," Joe said matter-of-factly, a pained look on his face.

Levon thought about the significance of the name. He looked down. At his feet lay the crumpled paper of his favorite chocolate brand. He picked it up and turned it between his fingers. "How long do you think it will take you to learn that lesson?"

Joe blushed. "I…I think I have finally got it right." There was a good deal of resignation in what followed. "My mom always said I only seem to learn from defeat. She was right. I guess I have learnt it now, even if I had to do it the hard way again."

Levon nodded. He felt no satisfaction. But he felt compassion. Slowly he got up and headed for the door. "Tea will only take a few minutes."

"Thanks, Levon."

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

When Levon returned with the tea, Joe was sitting up on the bed. He was petting Rocky´s head. The cat purred loudly. Levon handed over the mug of tea.

"Thanks." Joe cautiously began to sip the tea. Levon sat down on the edge of the bed again and extended his hand to touch the cat. It sniffed his fingers and just like it had done with Joe, it rubbed its head against Levon´s hand.

"That's really a friendly animal." Levon cautiously turned Rocky around and looked at his backside. "It´s a male, so the name is appropriate. And he´s castrated."

Joe looked shocked. "Who would do that to such a friendly animal?"

Levon laughed. "It´s the other way round. A male cat is castrated to make it less wild and to domesticate it." He continued to pet Rocky.

"You mean it´s ok to castrate a male cat?"

"Sure, if you want to keep it in the house it´s common practice. An uncastrated male will always mark his territory with his scent. If you don´t have him castrated he will also roam far from home, get into fights more frequently and have a low life expectancy because of that."

Joe was still pondering the concept of castration. "So someone did that to him, right? Someone paid for it?"

Levon got the implication. "Yeah, meaning he belongs somewhere. He´s also well fed, someone is obviously taking real good care of him."

Joe held up the folded handkerchief. "This was tied around his neck when I let him in today."

"Yeah, that´s another proof, that cat has a home nearby." Levon took the handkerchief and rolled it between his fingers. "Sorry man."

Joe looked downright disappointed, like a little boy who had been deprived of his toy. "You mean I can´t keep him?" He said, pouting.

"Joe, be reasonable." Levon suppressed a laugh. He did not want his partner to think he was making fun of him. "You´ll go back to work in less than two weeks and when you move back to the city there´s just no way you can keep him."

Joe swallowed.

Levon didn´t like what he saw, Joe seemed distraught. While they were each following their own thoughts, Rocky stretched, jumped off the bed and went to the backdoor. He started to scratch the door and meowed at the same time, noisily voicing his desire to leave.

Levon got up and followed him, opened the door and Rocky galloped towards the open field.

When Levon turned back, Joe had put down the mug and pulled up the blanket. His face was closed, Levon could not read him.

The small piece of paper with the cryptic message lay unmentioned in the drawer of the nightstand.

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

He couldn´t see anything, it was pitch black around him. He stretched his hands out in front of him to make sure he would not bump into something. First there was nothing. Then he touched something wet, cold and slimy. With a shudder he drew his hands back, but then forced himself on. He knew he had to go on. He could hear the voice calling for him. _ **Help me!**_ He cautiously placed one foot before the other, testing the ground. It felt strangely soft. The calling became more urgent and pleading. _**Help me!**_ With a resolve he could not explain he started to run. But the ground under his feet gave way completely and he fell, the blackness around him turning into a giant vortex that swallowed him.

"Joe, wake up." Levon was holding Joe by his shoulders, shaking him in an attempt to wake his cohabitant. Joe´s face was a mask of fear, his eyes opened wide but without recognition.

Levon shook him again. It took a moment for Joe´s eyes to clear. At last he seemed to surface from the terrible nightmare.

Levon looked at him in concern. "What was that about?"

"I…I had to…there suddenly was…" Joe shook his head. The nightmare rapidly slipped beyond his grasp, only the nameless horror of the fall seemed to linger. "I don´t know, I had to…"

"That was a hell of a nightmare you had, but fortunately it was just that….a nightmare," Levon tried to reassure his partner. "Is it ok now?"

"What time is it?"

"Almost six o´clock. I was about to go out to the barn when I heard you. Why don´t you go back to sleep?"

Joe looked doubtful. "Do you… do you mind if I join you?" Though Joe did not openly voice his discomfort, it was quite obvious that he did not want to stay on his own right now.

"No, not at all. That would be good actually, I want to show you something. Why don´t you put on that greased sweat suit of yours?"

"You want me to help you with your horse?" Joe´s asked suspiciously.

Levon laughed. "No, but perhaps there is something else you´d like to do," he said with a smile, leaving his partner in the dark.

"Ok, I´ll come over in a minute. You go ahead." Joe got out of bed. When Levon had turned his back on him and walked out the back door, Joe opened the drawer of the nightstand. He picked up the crumpled paper. It had dried. Though the writing was no more readable than yesterday he was sure now. Yesterday he had been too preoccupied with his own problems. Now he saw the writing quite clearly. _**Help me, he´s holding me prisoner, he is dangerous.**_ And this was what he had to do. He had to find out who was in need of help, and he was the one person who could provide that help. He just hoped he could do what was necessary.

With a thoughtful expression he put the paper back and closed the drawer. Then he hurried to catch up with his partner.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Wow, where did you get those?" Joe was examining the tires, tubes and other spare parts.

Levon smiled. He had been right. The prospect to refurbish the bike seemed to cheer Joe up. Though this was not the time when the Northerner would normally be up, he started to work on the old vehicle right away.

Levon stepped into Fooler´s box. He led her out of the barn into her corral. When he returned he started to muck out the box. From the corner of his eye he watched Joe with amazement. "Why are you so keen on fixing that old thing?"

"Always wanted to have one when I was a child." Joe gave the reason that had sprung to mind the second he had spotted the rusty jalopy. The more important motivation was of course that he felt confined to the ranch and could not afford a more expensive means of transportation. Last but not least he had just realized that the bike would render a much needed help in tracking Rocky down.

"It´s important to be mobile, but Texan kids don´t drive bikes, they start riding as soon as they can walk." Levon thought back to his own childhood.

"Well, my parents didn´t have a lot of money. So I never got a bike. Later when I lived at my Uncle´s place I got a car for my sixteenth birthday." Joe started to take the old tires off the rim.

For a while they both worked in silence and an hour later when Levon headed inside to prepare breakfast, Joe was still going about the repair with great enthusiasm.

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

"Is there anything you need? I could get it for you on the way home," Levon asked on his way out after breakfast.

"No, I don´t need anything." Joe thought for a moment. "Oh yeah, do you have binoculars somewhere in the house?"

"Yeah, in the living room high board. What do you want them for?"

"Oh, just a bit of bird watching."

Levon eyed his partner suspiciously. "Huh-huh?"

"Yeah, I need to keep the boredom in check. And now that the other options are out..."

"What other options?"

Joe grinned. "Alcohol and chocolate."

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

Joe had just finished putting on the new tires when Rocky turned up. He strolled into the barn and eyed Joe with great interest. This time the large tabby cat was not wearing a bandana. Joe put down the tools and greeted the feline with a friendly rub of the head. Then he headed to the kitchen to coax Rocky into staying for a while by using a bribe.

Rocky took the bait immediately. He licked the yoghurt Joe had put on a saucer, then headed for Joe´s bed and rolled into a ball. Purring for a while he finally fell asleep.

Joe went in search of the binoculars. He wanted to be prepared when Rocky would leave again. This time he needed to find out where the cat was headed.

Had it only been of general interest twenty four hours ago, it had now all of a sudden become a subject of utmost urgency. Someone was being kept prisoner by a dangerous individual and that someone had used the cat as a go-between. Most likely the cat was the only connection of that person to the outside world.

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

By the time Rocky was rested and had savored one half of a cold hamburger from the fridge, Joe was well prepared. There was only one thing Joe was worried about. A cyclist was something rare in Texas and thus he had to be wary of the attention he might draw. He had to be very careful. Otherwise he would endanger the life of an innocent person. Joe had shortly considered whether the call for help might be a fake. But even if it were, it still needed some looking into.

The cat hunt turned out to be more difficult than expected. Rocky made a beeline for some unknown destination but he did not make use of the dirt road or even the foot path that led away from Levon´s property. Joe had never ridden a bike before and he hadn´t had any time to practice. He had difficulties with keeping his balance, let alone following Rocky even with his eyes. The dirt road passed several smaller houses on either side. Whenever Rocky disappeared behind a house Joe stopped at a safe distance. At one time he almost thought he had lost the feline. But finally Rocky reappeared and resumed his journey. His speed was not to be underestimated and Joe was beginning to have difficulties keeping up on the gearless bike.

About two miles down the road Rocky made a right turn and headed straight towards a medium sized house in the background of a few derelict agricultural buildings. It lay well out of sight of the road and even the foot path. It was difficult to approach without being seen from within. Joe hid the bike behind a bush and cautiously approached the house. From the cover of some larger shrubs his gaze followed Rocky with the binoculars.

The house looked strangely unkempt, at least from afar. It wasn´t exactly uninhabited but rather old and none of the windows allowed a view into the interior. While Joe was still pondering the character of the building he suddenly became aware that he had lost sight of Rocky. Feverishly he scanned the house and the surrounding yard with the binoculars, to no avail. Rocky had disappeared.

Joe weighed the options. He could not approach the house during daylight. He would have to wait until the dark would obscure his actions. The only thing he could do right now was to try and find out who was living at the place. He looked at the mailbox and made a mental note of the name and street number stated there.

At last he went back to the bicycle. He mounted and with real effort stepped on the pedals. He had already reached the driveway to Levon´s place, when suddenly the bicycle chain got stuck and the abrupt stop sent him flying over the handle bar.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

It just wasn´t fair.

Joe let the lukewarm water run over the heel of his left hand. The water turned red with his blood, but it only washed away some of the dirt that had been rubbed into the deep abrasion. Had this happened on the job his superior would have sent him to a doc to have the wound cleaned and disinfected. But now he decided this was not an option. Gritting his teeth he grabbed a clean towel and under the running water wiped all the dirt from the wound.

The abrasion was only the smaller problem. His gaze went up to his wrist and now, only minutes after the unfortunate accident, he could already see that it had developed a remarkable swelling. The arm had taken the brunt of the fall and the wrist had been severely sprained. Or at least he hoped it was just a spraining. The way it hurt he almost suspected a torn ligament. But he quickly put the misgivings aside. He could not afford to dwell on his misfortune right now. Luckily his reflexes had prevented any injuries to his head.

He turned the water to cold and let it run over the painfully throbbing joint for a while. It didn´t help. Finally he turned it off and dried the wound, afterwards leaving the bloody towel in the sink to soak. From the first aid kit he retrieved the small bottle of mercurochrome and cringingly applied the stinging substance. He pressed a large band aid on the wound and headed for the guest room.

He took in the disheveled look of his mirror image. His sweat suit was torn and dirty. He shed it and put on a pair of jeans. He donned a shirt with especially long sleeves, hoping it would sufficiently obscure the injuries. Then he went to the ice box, took out some ice cubes and stashed them in a small freezer bag. He pressed it to his swollen wrist and with a sigh settled on the living room couch.

Why did things never go the way he wanted them to lately? Putting his feelings of self-pity aside he got hold of the phone and dialed the number of one of the extensions in the bullpen. It was the number of his colleague Carol who was their specialist for any kind of research on the computer.

"Hi Carol, it´s Joe. Before you say anything just listen. Don´t mention my name."

The somewhat strained reply did at least comply with his order. "Hi…yeah, sure. What can I do for you?"

"Is Lundy there? He mustn´t know about this, is that understood?"

"Well, no, he´s out with Esteban. How are you?"

"I´m fine. Listen Carol, I need some information. Could you find out if there´s anything in the records on a Peter Sarsted, living at Richmond Road 2564? And also who owns the place?"

"That´s Levon´s road, isn´t it?"

"Never mind, just do it. I will call you…" Joe looked at the wall clock. "…in about an hour. Do you think you´ll have it by then?"

"Anything you need, sugar, anything you need." There was a teasing smile in Carol´s voice.

"Thanks, you´re a doll."

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

Carol called indeed after an hour. "Listen, there is something funny about the information you wanted. The owners according to the deed are a married couple, Ester and Harry Lang."

"What´s the funny bit?"

"Well, the name you gave me is the funny bit."

"Carol, why don´t you tell me what´s up?" Joe felt like he was pulling teeth.

"Aren´t you supposed to be on sick leave? Why do you want to play Sherlock?"

"Carol…"

"Ok, this Sarsted guy doesn´t exist, not according to any of our systems. Looks like he is a fake. And the married couple is not registered anywhere else. So they still seem to be living there. Anything else you need to know?"

"No, thanks Carol. But as I said, don´t tell Lundy about any of this."

"Ok, but you take care."

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

Those were without doubt very interesting news. So there might after all be something wrong with the place Rocky was frequenting or with its inhabitants. For a while Joe tried to come up with a plan. A look at the clock told him that Levon would be coming home soon. Joe had decided to take a closer look at Rocky´s home under the cover of darkness. But Levon would not let him leave the house on some flimsy excuse. More likely he would not let Joe leave at all and instead give him a proper grilling.

Then the course of events presented him with an unexpected solution. Levon called and said that he had been assigned to an urgent stakeout and that he would not come home before midnight.

There was still time before dark would set in and Joe was determined to put it to good use. He put on a decent jacket and retrieved his badge. Nothing spoke against making some door to door enquiries before he could check out the place directly. Perhaps he would get some useful leads.

So he walked down the road and randomly approached one of the neighboring houses. It looked as if it could do with a paint job and there was no vehicle parked in front of the place. Joe opted for older inhabitants who were inclined to know their neighbors better than the younger generation. He was right.

An elderly woman opened the door, eying him suspiciously.

"Mam, my name is Sergeant LaFiamma, I am from the Houston Police Department." He produced his badge. "We are following up on some leads concerning break-ins in this part of the neighborhood."

"Oh my God, what happened? When did it happen? Won´t you come in?" The woman opened the door widely and beckoned him inside. He asked some general questions and when he was already on his way out he asked quite casually: "I tried the Lang place, but there was no one at home. You wouldn´t know when I can reach them?"

"Oh, the Langs aren´t living here anymore. The house is occupied by a cousin of Mr. Lang, has been for about two years now. Funny thing, actually."

"Funny?" Joe had a gut feeling he was on the right track here.

"Yes, they were such pleasant neighbors, really a nice couple. Childless though. But none of us would have expected them to just move out without saying good-bye. And they didn´t even leave an address with anyone, really very disappointing. Sometimes you really can´t tell what goes on in other people´s minds."

"About that cousin of Mr. Lang, would you happen to know when I can reach him?" Joe couldn´t pass the opportunity by to get vital information about the present occupant of that house, the guy who might be living there under a false identity.

"Oh yeah, that cousin of Mr. Lang. He´s a bit of an outsider here. Doesn´t really talk to anyone. Moved in right after the Langs were gone, said that they sold him the place at a bargain price."

"So when does he come home?" Joe needed to get as much information out of the old gossip as possible.

"He´s away most of the time during the week being a trucker and all. Sometimes he drops in at an odd hour, though. But you really can´t tell for sure. If I were you I´d try a weekend. And during daytime he´s almost never in. Would you like some coffee, young man?"

Realizing this was his last chance to walk out of the place without displeasing the elderly lady, Joe quickly thanked her, no coffee, sorry but he needed to get on.

The strange apprehension he had felt ever since he had discovered the smudged message had grown stronger on account of the woman´s statement. Joe was sure now that the cry for help was not a fake.

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

It was still too early to approach the Lang property, still not dark enough. So Joe headed back to Levon´s house to prepare for the secret undertaking. He dressed in black. He took the binoculars and when his gaze fell on the handkerchief Rocky had worn, he stuffed it in his pocket. He also took a small notepad and a pen. A small flashlight was added. Shortly he considered to put a bandage on the injured wrist. But that would only further limit his mobility. Taking a painkiller wasn´t a good idea either, it would only upset his stomach again. So he just gritted his teeth.

He would have preferred to take his guns. But he had no idea what had happened to them. He remembered leaving them in his apartment when he had gone to his job as a night watch. But they had not been in his suitcases. He would have to contact his landlord about them. But right now he would have to make do without them.

The absence of his partner did not worry him. Not with a single though did Joe consider that there was a good reason for always assigning two detectives to a case. In his present state of mind, in his mental and physical isolation he had somehow lost the concept of partnership, the concept of a human belonging to a group of other humans for the sake of safety, comfort and wellbeing.

Joe had received the call for help and was ready to answer it regardless of his own stake. But he had not yet realized that he too sometimes was at the receiving end of things.

Rocky had not only sought him out to collect something. Quite on the contrary, Rocky had approached Joe because the animal had sensed Joe was in need, in need of unconditional sympathy.

Having been faithful companions to mankind for thousands of years, many members of the species cat had developed an almost mysterious ability to sense the unvoiced needs of a human. The second side of the coin nature had provided them with, made them the typical paradox. Their enicmatic nature manifested itself in the other, totally contrary trait: that of the merciless hunter and playful killer, highly independent and freedom-loving.

Of all this Joe was oblivious. The only thing that counted right now was the call for help.

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

Levon and Esteban had been sitting in the Jimmy for an hour, observing a crack house, waiting for a druggy they needed to bring in. Nobody had entered the place, let alone come out during that hour. It promised to be a long and boring night, when the radio cracked and dispatch came through.

"9214, I have a call from Sergeant O`Brian."

Levon picked up the mic. "9214 I read yah, put her through." The line cracked. "Carol, what´s up."

"Listen, Levon. I know Joey will probably kill me for telling you, but I think he´s up to something."

"What are you talking about, Carol, the boy´s on sick leave. What should he be up to?"

"He asked me about a house on your street and the research I did on the system came up with some inconsistencies. And he did not want you to know about it." Carol relayed in detail what she had found out. During her account Levon´s worries grew.

"Thanks, Carol, tell dispatch to put me through to my home line."

"But…"

"Just do it." Levon did not want to explain why he wanted to call his own home. No one except the Lieutenant knew that Joe was staying at his place and he wanted it to remain that way. Then Carol was gone and the phone on the other end of the line rang, rang ten times, twenty times before Levon disconnected and hung up the mic.

Esteban shot him a sidelong look. "Trouble with LaFiamma, Lundy?"

"Has that boy ever been anything but trouble?" Levon knew there was nothing he could do right now. He couldn´t bunk off and leave the stakeout to Esteban. But the information he had just received made waiting for the end of their shift far from easy.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Joe had circled the property twice. He was sure now that there was no one in the place. The neighbor had said that Sarsted was a trucker and he hardly ever was home on a weekday. Today was Thursday. Chances that the guy would be home today were zero. Going through his options, Joe decided to approach the house. He was about to make the first step when he felt something touch him. In surprise he almost dropped the binoculars. He looked down and smiled.

"Hey Rocky, where have you been?" He bent down and petted the purring cat. Rocky curled around Joe´s ankles. Suddenly Joe had an idea. He pulled out the notepad and pen from his pocket. Quickly he scribbled on the notepad: "Where are you? Who are you? How can I help you?" He tore the paper from the pad and rolled it into the handkerchief. Then he put the cloth around Rocky´s neck and made a knot. The cat did not seem to mind.

"Rocky, go home," Joe said, unsure what to do now. To his surprise Rocky turned around and headed straight to the house. Joe followed him at once. The cat rounded the corner and when Joe had done so as well Rocky was gone.

"Shit." Joe scanned the walls of the house and at last found a gap in the wooden boarding. He switched the flashlight on and pointed it into the hole. There was nothing, just blackness. Well, at least this seemed to be where Rocky had disappeared.

Joe waited. Time began to drag. Perhaps Rocky frequented several places. Perhaps this was not the one with the imprisoned person. The longer he waited, the greater grew his doubts.

Suddenly Rocky emerged from the hole in the wall. He was still wearing the bandana. With flying fingers Joe loosened the knot and unrolled the cloth. There was a piece of paper, his own paper? He unfolded it.

 _ **I am in the cellar. He kidnapped me. When he comes back he will rape me. Please help me.**_

This time the writing was perfectly clear and legible. So the cry for help was no fake. Joe looked up and faced Rocky´s expectant eyes. The cat seemed confident that Joe would do the right thing. And it seemed in fact easy.

The perpetrator was not at home. There was imminent danger for the victim. He would not need backup or even a warrant. He was not on duty, so he did not have to stick to the rules. He only needed to go in.

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

The Jimmy came to a screeching halt in front of the ranch house. In the headlights Levon could see the bicycle lying in the dust. He jumped out of the car and stepped up to the old jalopy. He picked it up and tried to roll it towards the porch. But somehow it wouldn´t move. He looked down and realized that the chain was stuck. With a frown he leaned the bike against the railing of the porch.

The house was locked, dark and empty. Levon went through all the rooms. The last one was the bathroom and he looked at the bloody towel in the sink. What the hell had happened? In the waste he noticed the wrapping of the band aid and on the shelf the small bottle of mercurochrome. The bicycle chain…if Joe had ridden the bike and the chain had blocked…it had probably caused him to fall and it looked like he had sustained some kind of injury. But where was Joe?

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

The door posed no serious obstacle. It took only a minute to open it. Joe used the flashlight to search the place. It was dusty and seemed pretty uninhabited. There was no upper level but neither could he find a staircase to the cellar. He must have missed something. Rocky had come out of this house and the note had stated that the person was in the cellar.

Carefully Joe walked around the place once more. Finally he stamped his foot loudly on the floor boards. If there was anyone in the cellar he or she was bound to hear this. And that person would try to attract attention as well.

He strained to listen.

The pounding was unmistakably an answer. Joe stamped again. The pounding answered. How could he get into the cellar? Where was the entrance?

All of a sudden Joe realized that Rocky had come inside after him. The cat was now standing in front of a door in the kitchen. Joe stepped up behind him and opened the door. It was some kind of larder. On the walls there were shelves with cans, among them also cat food. Ok, so that was why Rocky was here, he expected to be fed, Joe thought disappointedly.

Joe was about to turn back, when he noticed that Rocky had disappeared under the lowermost shelve. Then he heard a scratching sound, the sound Rocky produced when he wanted to get in or out of somewhere. Joe knelt down and saw that the storage rack was not standing on the floor but rather seemed to be hanging on the wall. Underneath a draft of air circulated through a crack. The pounding was louder here than elsewhere in the house.

Joe put his head even lower but he could find nothing. His hand felt along the wall near the floor. There was some kind of handle. Cautiously he pulled. It did not move.

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

When Carol had called him on the stakeout, Levon had written down the number of the house Joe had enquired about. Now he pulled out the piece of paper. He turned on his heels and walked out the door of his ranch house. He did not bother to lock the place. He jumped back into the Jimmy and turned the key in the ignition. The truck did not make a sound. He tried again. Shit. He looked at the dashboard and realized that he had run out of gas.

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

Without warning the storage rack started to move, and it almost crushed Joe´s fingers. He drew back and jumped to his feet. As the rack swung open it revealed a staircase leading down to the cellar. With the flashlight shining down in front of him Joe took two steps at a time. At the foot of the stairs was another door, locked with two padlocks. Shit, he would need something like a pry bar to get inside.

"Please, will you help me?" The voice behind the door was female and timid.

"Don´t worry, I´ll get you out of there. I just need to get a tool to pry the locks open." Joe turned to leave when the voice behind the door started to cry.

"Please, don´t go away, please."

Joe could clearly hear the despair and fear. "If he comes back and finds you here he will kill us both."

"I´ll be back in a minute." He ran back up the stairs and out of the house. There was a garage on the right side of the house and he headed there. Fortunately it wasn´t locked. It smelled strangely musty. He found an iron rod and ran back. Behind the door he could hear the desperate crying.

"Don´t be afraid, I´ll get you out of there in no time." But it took longer than he had expected. He could not hold the bar with his left hand. The wrist and hand were swollen to such an extent that the limb was totally useless. With every attempt to pry the door open the pain grew worse and at last he was sweating and felt slightly nauseous.

One more time, just one more time. He jammed the bar behind the padlock and threw himself against the door. Then all resistance was gone and he flew into the cellar together with the door. For a second he just lay there, his sprained wrist pinned between the door and his body. He couldn´t breathe and before he found the strength to roll off his injured arm the terrible pain made him black out. 


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Peter Sarsted had waited for this day for almost two years.

When he had taken over the Lang property he had turned the cellar into a prison. And he had had a vague plan what to do with it. He was determined to have a bride of his own, a family and children of his own. His father had always said he was too dumb to marry. But Peter was about to prove that he could get there.

Shortly after Peter had moved into the house on Richmond Road an unexpected opportunity had presented itself. On one of his trips he had picked up a young woman, a runaway hitchhiker. She was more than pretty but still a bit too young for his intended purpose. He had sedated her with the knockout drops he was always carrying. When she had awoken in the dungeon of his new home she had cried, pleaded, raged. He had explained to her that this was her chance for a new life as well. What did she expect? She would no doubt end up as a hooker or druggy. So what he was offering her was a good life, a life as wife and mother.

When he had imprisoned her she had been a bit over sixteen, and Peter´s fanatic religious belief had not allowed him to sleep with her yet. So he had kept her incarcerated and he had tried to befriend her. He had learnt from her documents that she was from California. He had investigated about her family and from the archive of a local newspaper at her hometown he had learnt that the police presumed her to be dead. She had not left a trace when she had disappeared. That was good. He was safe.

He was eager to get home tonight. He had just for once insisted to take on only a delivery tour that would allow him to be back home on Thursday night. Thursday was her birthday. She would be eighteen tonight.

He licked his lips. The thought of finally taking her aroused him. He hoped she wouldn´t be too stubborn. He was not keen to take her forcefully, but if she left him no choice he would do it.

He hoped he would render her pregnant right away. He was looking forward to having children, her children. She had grown into a real beauty, her golden hair was reaching down to her hips now. She was slender, not too tall for his liking, though a bit too pale due to the lack of sunlight.

His breathing quickened as he turned his truck from the main road into Richmond Road. In two minutes he would be home. 


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

When Joe came around someone was pressing a cold wet cloth to his forehead. It felt good. He opened his eyes and looked right into the blue eyes of an angel. The young woman was of unearthly beauty and her golden hair surrounded her Madonna-like face like a halo. He closed his eyes again and sighed. He had always imagined her to be dark haired. But now he realized he had been wrong. He felt as if he was in heaven. Being dead felt good…except for….except for that horrible pain in his left arm.

He bolted upright, almost colliding with the blond angel. She moved back in surprise.

"Ouch!" All of a sudden Joe remembered what he had come here for. He felt dizzy but he knew he had to concentrate. He struggled to his feet, swaying. The young woman saw that he had difficulties getting up and stepped closer to give him a hand. Then she halted in mid-motion, her face suddenly a mask of horror. In the distance the sound of a truck engine could be heard.

"What´s wrong?" Joe held on to her arm to steady himself.

"He…he….he´s coming." She could hardly speak. Every nerve in her body was paralyzed by the sheer terror. This must not be true, not now that her savior had come. She had waited so long for this moment…

Joe turned towards the door. From above they could hear noise and all of a sudden the staircase was filled with the breathtaking fumes of gasoline.

"He always said he´d burn down the place if anybody found out," the young woman uttered tonelessly. "And I´d be in it."

Joe started to ascend the stairs. After just two steps he was confronted with a giant. Joe wasn´t small himself but the guy who came down the staircase in a storm of rage was a real giant.

"You damn slut. Didn´t I do everything for you? Why are you doing this to me?" There were only a few steps left between the raging giant and Joe. The young woman had crouched down behind Joe in despair and was covering her head with her arms.

"On the very night of our matrimony you bring in that pimp of yours! Didn´t I take you off the street to have a better life?"

Joe was trying to resort to his cop instinct and training but he had difficulties to concentrate on the imminent attack. He saw the foot of the giant fly towards him and reacted with the trained reflex, withdrawing his weapon hand and turning his left side towards the assailant.

For once the reaction acquired in hard training was the wrong thing to do. The foot hit Joe´s left arm and the terrible pain that shot through Joe´s body made it impossible to prevent what was by now inevitable. Joe went down like a stone. The giant jumped over him and got hold of the girl, pulled her to her feet and up the staircase.

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

By the time Levon was close to the address Carol had given him, he was pretty much out of breath. He turned into the driveway of the property and saw that the house was dark.

But as he came closer he could perceive a commotion on the porch. A man bust out of the screen door, holding a young woman with his right arm in a tight fix. She was screaming and trying to get free, to no avail. The giant dragged her across the porch and away from the house.

Levon had stopped and drawn his revolver. He could not get a clear aim at the guy, he was too entangled with the young woman. Well, whatever he was planning, it was not what she wanted.

"Freeze, police." Levon stepped forward with the customary request. "Let her go."

The giant laughed and pulled her along by her hair. In the doorway behind the two a figure appeared. It was Joe. He was clutching his left arm and he was kind of dragging his feet. For a split second Levon´s attention was diverted.

The giant pulled out a lighter and flicked it open. With an eerie laugh he held up the flame. "You won´t get me, but you won´t get her either." He threw the lighter behind himself onto the porch. There was a fireball, the house exploded in one burst of flames. The impact threw Joe right off the porch face down into the dirt.

The explosion had been totally unexpected. Levon´s index finger tightened on the trigger of his revolver and the shot went off. Before he even realized what had happened, he saw the giant sink to his knees, pulling the young woman down with him. The impact of the bullet spun him around and he buried her under his massive body.

Levon froze. He could not believe he had fired a shot. He ran towards the felled figure.

He reached the man the same instant as Joe. In the eerie light of the burning house Joe sagged to his knees and rolled the giant off the young woman. In the flicker he could see the large red stain of blood on her chest. It had the size of a man´s palm.

Levon kneeled beside his partner. "You killed her, Lundy, why did you kill her?" Joe´s words were broken by a violent sob. "She was only trying to get away from him." Joe´s shoulders were shaking.

Levon touched her neck and searched for a pulse. He found it right away, it was strong and regular. Levon turned to the man lying in the grass and repeated his action. The giant was dead, there was no doubt about it.

Joe had gathered the young woman in his arms, rocking her and mumbling under his breath in Italian. Levon softly touched Joe´s shoulder. "Joe, she´s not dead. That must be his blood, not hers." At the very instant the woman opened her eyes. Joe´s jaw dropped open, he seemed totally bewildered.

She looked around and when she saw her tormentor lying dead in the grass she shuddered and averted her gaze. Then she struggled to sit up. She looked at Levon. "Who are you?"

"Levon Lundy, Houston Police Department, Mam." He smiled at her. But she did not return his smile. Instead she suddenly looked around wildly. "Where is Rocky?"

The words seemed to bring Joe out of his trance. He jumped up and ran towards the house. "Rocky, Rocky." His outcry was one of sheer despair. He was already on the porch and despite the immense heat he reached out to open the door. A sputter of sparks announced the drop of a burning beam.

Levon had caught up with Joe and held on to him, pulling him back from the burning building. "Are you mad, boy? Do you wanna kill yahself?" Unintentionally Levon squeezed Joe´s swollen joint hard. Joe cried out. The pain was more than he could take. He sagged again, his brain dazed with the smoke, the pain, the despair. He only vaguely registered Levon pulling him away from the house.

From afar the wailing sirens of the fire engines announced the arrival of help.

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

When the fire had died down to a glow the bustle on the crime scene was beginning to calm down as well. Uniformed police officers and the fire fighters had taken care of things. Their superior, Lieutenant Joanne Beaumont, had come to the scene as well, having been informed that two of her officers had been involved in a shooting incident. Levon had filled her in as far as he could but he had no clue what had brought Joe here and how the young woman was involved. That would only be revealed the next day on the grounds of a thorough investigation.

From the corner of his eye Levon had observed Joe. The Northerner was still sitting in the grass a bit out of the way of the firefighters. It was obvious that he was deeply distraught, under shock and in pain. He had rejected to be treated by the paramedics. Levon was alarmed but he did not want to force Joe right now. Perhaps he would come around in due course.

Levon was still speaking to Joanne when he perceived a movement behind Joe. Levon turned his head and recognized Rocky. The cat seemed to emerge from out of nowhere. It headed straight to where Joe was squatted down. The tabby nudged Joe to draw his attention, purring and rubbing its head against the man´s arm.

Joe started up, turning his head towards the cat. When he recognized Rocky he pulled the cat into his embrace. He buried Rocky with his body, rolling into a tight ball around the cat. The feline did not mind the confinement but rather snuggled into the space, purring loudly. Even from afar Levon could see that Joe´s shoulders were shaking with violent sobs.

Joanne tugged his sleeve. "Levon, what´s with Joe?" She seemed to have observed the scene as well.

Levon found it hard to tell her the truth. He tried nonetheless. "Joe befriended that cat. It helped him to feel less lonely. I guess he thought it died in the fire."

She nodded. "Will you take care of him?"

"Yeah, sure."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

It hadn´t been easy to get Joe away from the crime scene. He had rejected to leave Rocky there. Of course he had a point, the house and everyone who had taken care of the cat were gone. Only after Levon had agreed to take Rocky to his house and lock him in, had Joe agreed to be driven to the hospital for the necessary treatment of his wrist.

The outcome of the examination had been sobering. Joe´s wrist was fractured and due to the lack of adequate treatment it was severely swollen. The physicians straightened the joint and immobilized it with a temporary cast. In a few days, when the swelling had subsided, they would replace it with a permanent plaster cast.

The young woman, Emily Barnes, wasn´t in need of medical treatment. The blood on her chest had indeed been that of her tormentor. Except for the lack of sunlight she was in a good physical shape. Perhaps she would have to consult a shrink for a while. But as Sarsted had not raped her she had a good chance to get over the imprisonment undamaged.

The HPD had informed her parents who had flown in from California immediately. They had deemed their daughter dead, and they were overjoyed to receive her unharmed after such a long time.

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

Before Emily was to return to California she asked to visit her liberator.

It was Saturday and when the doorbell rang Levon let her in. Then he retreated to the kitchen.

Joe was sitting on the living room couch, zapping through the TV channels. He was in pain, unable to take an adequate dose of painkillers due to his still too sore stomach. Beside him lay Rocky, on his back, contentedly stretched to his full length, all four paws in the air.

Joe nodded towards the empty end of the couch. "Thanks." Emily sat down and at once started to pet Rocky´s soft white belly. The feline stretched its limbs even more and turned up the volume of its purring. Joe smiled, Emily returned the smile, and her face was so beautiful that it almost took Joe´s breath away.

"How did you know I named him Rocky?" he finally asked.

"Oh, I didn´t. You might not believe it but I named him Rocky too. After the boxer Rocky Balboa. I wanted to keep fighting for my freedom, I did not want to give in to Peter Sarsted." She shyly conceded the secret motto she had upheld all the time she had been imprisoned.

"A good reason for a name like that." Joe answered pensively.

"Why did you call him Rocky?" Emily started to tease Rocky and he responded by playfully hitting her with his paws. She seemed to be really familiar with the animal, he noticed, not without a pang of jealousy.

"Just…just because…."

She saw that he felt awkward to tell her. "You don´t have to…"

"No, no, I want to. I was pretty low when Rocky turned up and he stayed with me. His company made me feel better right away. I felt less lonely. I realized I had hit rock bottom. That´s why I called him Rocky." Joe had blushed but still he smiled at her openly now. "I wanted him to remind me never to get so low again." She nodded and returned his smile.

"If you want to take him with you to California I can understand that."

She shook her head vehemently. "No, that´s not what I want to do. My parents are living in a pretty urban area, Rocky wouldn´t like it there. And I would hate to lock him in." She paused for a moment. "I would like to ask you to keep Rocky here with you. I think he will like it here."

Joe was surprised. This woman did not only look like an angel, she also acted like one. He almost felt inclined to ask if she couldn´t stay with him as well. Ok, she was more than ten years younger than he was but did that really matter? He was certain she would become the love of his life… He shook his head partly to chase away the weird notion, partly because he felt he owed her the truth. "I would love to accept your offer, but it´s not up to me. I only live here temporarily. My partner owns the place. Levon?" He called the name loudly. But there was no answer. The Texan seemed to be out of earshot.

Joe shrugged. "Since when did Rocky live with you?"

"Peter brought him in soon after he kidnapped me. Rocky was a stray and he was a bit ragged. But he stayed with us right away, he was very faithful. He never roamed for long until…until last week. All of a sudden he was gone during daytime. He hadn´t done that before."

"That was probably when he kept me company," Joe conceded.

"That´s what gave me the idea with the secret message. I knew Rocky had befriended someone else. And I knew what would happen on my eighteenth birthday. I didn´t have much time left. I knew it was my only chance." Her voice was very small all of a sudden. Joe got hold of her hand.

"Emily, will you promise something to me?"

She nodded timidly.

"Don´t let this drag you down. You´ve still got your whole life ahead of you." He squeezed her hand.

"I promise and thanks for giving me my life back."

"I just found you, in the end my partner Levon saved you, just like he saved me, too."

As if on cue Levon entered the living room. "Coffee anyone?"

When he saw Joe roll his eyes he added with a grin: "Or tea?"

Emily got up and Joe followed her example. "I´ve got to go, my parents are waiting for me. Mr. Lundy, will you allow Rocky to stay at your place? Joe said it´s your house." Her eyes were pleading.

Levon looked at Joe and then back at her. "Of course. It´s the ideal place for a cat. He can roam the area he is familiar with. And I don´t suppose Joe will have any difficulties to cajole Rocky into moving in for good." Levon saw the tension drain from Joe´s face and be replaced by his most mischievous boyish smile.

Emily had noticed the change in Joe too and she laughed, a cheerful infectious and bell-like laugh. She reached out her hand but then changed her mind. Instead she placed a hearty kiss on Levon´s cheek and then approached Joe, drawing him into a tight embrace and kissing him as well. He blushed deeply, he just couldn´t help it. She was a Madonna, she was just like the saints he had marveled at in church as a child.

She was long gone when Levon put a hand on Joe´s shoulder. "You wanna grow roots or care to join me for supper in the kitchen?"

Joe seemed to have been far away. "Yeah, right," he stammered and finally let go of a wonderful dream.

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI

Sunday came and brought Joanne to the ranch to take Joe´s statement. First Joe was reluctant to give her all the details. When he produced the crumpled paper with the first cry for help, Levon shot him a furious look.

"How the hell did you get the idea into that thick head of yours to go for that one single handed? The girl and you could have gotten killed."

Joanne raised a hand to shush him. It seemed that she was willing to give Joe the benefit of the doubt.

"The neighbor said that Sarsted never came home during the week. There really was no way of knowing…" Joe produced the second paper and handed it to his Lieutenant.

Joanne looked at it in disbelief. _I am in the cellar. He kidnapped me. When he comes back he will rape me. Please help me._ She put the slip of paper into the file. "Joe, couldn´t you at least have called for backup?"

"I would have had to go back all the way to phone and it would have delayed things for more than an hour, I didn´t want her to be afraid any more, I…"

"It´s ok, Joe. I guess every officer would have done the same thing." Then she remembered something. "After all the whole business was brought to a good ending…except for the three bodies we found."

Joe looked up and Levon tensed. "What do you mean, boss?"

"Our crime scene specialists turned everything upside down. They found two bodies buried in the garage, probably the Langs."

"Shit." Joe muttered under his breath, but what had he expected. He had to admit that he had had a hunch about what might have happened to the couple.

But Joanne wasn´t through yet. "They also discovered another body under a garden shed, perhaps another teenager Sarsted kidnapped. The autopsies will tell us more. But that will take a while yet."

"Shit," Joe muttered again.

"Yeah, shit," she conceded. For a moment all three of them fell silent. Well, all four of them in fact, Rocky had stopped purring, sensing the tension in the room.

Then Joanne became businesslike again. "Joe, you know that what you did was inappropriate, going about it alone, I mean."

He nodded.

"But as you were not on duty, I think I will not pursue the matter any further." She shrugged. "Oh yes, I almost forgot. Mr. and Mrs. Barns offered a reward when their daughter vanished. They are insisting on you two getting the money. It will be transferred to both of you in the next days."

"A reward?"

"Yeah, two and a half thousand dollars for each of you." She couldn´t help but smile when she saw her best team totally dumbstruck.

Finally she got up to leave. In the door she turned around one more time.

"Joe, what about that wrist of yours?" She pointed at the cast.

"Six weeks, Lieutenant, sorry." Joe sounded contrite.

"How did that happen?"

"Cycling accident."

"What?" she harrumphed disbelievingly, obviously suspecting some joke at her expense.

Levon burst out laughing.

Joanne looked from one to the other. Her voice was serious but her eyes were laughing. "I´ve about had it with you, Joey."

"I know," Joe grinned. "That´s what Lundy keeps telling me all the time."

 **The End**

 **Author´s note:**

This story was inspired by and is dedicated to my cat, a male tabby that came to us as a foundling. His instincts are lethal, but to the members of his human family he is the most playful and loyal companion. Whenever I am sick or feeling depressed he comes to ease my pain and loneliness just by being there. Though his name is not Rocky he kindly permitted the use of his picture for this story.


End file.
